24 January 2019•Update: 24 January 2019
By Fatih Erel
ISTANBUL
World number four Japanese Naomi Osaka beat Czech seventh seed Karolina Pliskova to advance to the final at the Australian Open on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Japanese won 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 and will face World No. 6 Czech Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday.
Kvitova beat American Danielle Collins to secure the first finalist berth at the Australian Open 2019 on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Czech player claimed her first Grand Slam final since being stabbed in December 2016.
The winner will replace Romania's Simona Halep as the world number one.